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USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG -7)   

10-Sep-2024 17:05 Last Up Date

The passing of Ed Raley ET-3 Plank
23 November 1941 - 10 July 2024

Shannon and Ed 2004 Henry B. Wilson Reunion

From his daughter Shannon

Eulogy
 

Thank you.  Thank you all for being here today to lay to rest a man that most of you barely knew.  Let me tell you a little bit about this man.  Growing up, my dad was THE guy.  He was the guy that you could never tell if he was kidding or not.  We’d have friends over and while making lunch he’d ask if we wanted lizard or snake sandwiches.  Clearly PB&J or bologna were the options on the counter, but more than a few neighborhood kids wouldn’t eat at our house.  One of them, Sharaine, even ran home crying.  My dad was the guy that would put a ladder to the edge of the house and run all of us kids up it just to throw us off the roof into the deep end of the swimming pool.  He was the guy that would stretch out in his recliner and let my friends and I curl his hair, paint his nails and even put shaving cream all over his face and let us “shave” it off after he took the blade out of his safety razor.  My mom worked 7pm to 7am as we got older and if he needed to make supper, dad was always up for making pancakes any color we liked, potatoes and eggs was a frequent dish he’d prepare but his go to was always fried rice.  Ya never really knew what the protein was gonna be, but it was always great!

As I got older and he stopped coming my horse shows, I know that he still supported me and cared because of the same two things he always said to me.  As I was leaving, he’d tell me to keep my heels down, and when I got home, he’d ask me if I fell off.  My favorite thing that he would frequently do is time his flying time with my riding lessons.  I would hear him rev and slow the engine of his little Cessna airplane overhead and I’d look up and find him circling above tipping his wings left and right as if waving. 

My dad was a complicated man because he had conflicting traits that seem to always battle each other.  He had a brilliant mind, a way of thinking outside the box, a desire to build a create things but he also was a major procrastinator and had a crippling lack of follow through.  He’d get all the components to build something and then get bored and move on to another project that was destined to go unfinished.  This made him seek fulfillment constantly.  He always had a wanderlust for travel and loved the Asian culture.  He loved all things Japanese with their “polite society” he called it.  Which is funny when you think how he would have fit into that culture...a man that would have been twice the size of the average population and one that could never stop talking!  Yes, for those of you eyeing me...I KNOW where I get it from. 

For many years, my dad was my best friend and the only man I could count on.  He could be high-maintenance and demanding, but I am so grateful for the time that I had with him and for knowing him as closely as I did.   My dad did not grow up in a home that expressed love or affection, and he regretted that.  I don’t really remember him saying I love you when I was growing up, but he would always say, “It might go unsaid, but it won’t go undone.”  I’m grateful that I got to spend the last 34 days of his life with him.  He got the chance to share a lot, say a lot of things he wanted to and to apologize for the mess he left behind.  If you know...you know.

Some of you may wonder about the box on the table.  My dad wanted to be cremated.  That’s probably because he knew he wouldn’t be here to instruct you selected pallbearers to go for the feet, the box isn’t as heavy.  But after looking through all of the options of urns for his cremated remains, nothing seemed right as a final resting place for him...until the light bulb flickered!  My dad had become quite reclusive, a doomsday prepper and quite the “collector” (it’s a nicer word than hoarder), especially of guns and ammunition, so it felt very appropriate for him to have his final resting place surrounded by the things he loved.  Inside the ammo can with him is a bottle of Margaritaville tequila, a can of Diet Squirt, a bottle of Advil, some spent brass and a family picture. 

My dad collected shot glasses and loved what he called a “poor man’s margarita”, and I would love it if you would choose a glass from his collection and join me in a toast to the life of an amazing dad. 

Cheers to you Dad, I hope you are buzzing around tipping your wings in heaven.  I’ll keep my heels down and I hope when I get there, I can tell you that I didn't fall off.  Please mind both of your manners. I hope I made you proud and I hope you know how much we love you.

Obituary

Eddie Lee Raley, age 82, passed away on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Beaver City, Nebraska.  Following a recent diagnosis of end stage liver disease, Ed left his home of 13 years in Kinnear, Wyoming, to be closer to family and medical care in Nebraska.

Ed was born on November 23, 1941, exactly 2 weeks before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He liked to tell everyone that.  He was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas and was the youngest of three children.  He grew up in the desert of Barstow, California and lied about his age to join the Navy as an electronics technician right after he graduated from High School at 17. He spoke often and fondly of his years in the service and bragged about being a “tin can sailor” and a plank owner on the Henry B. Wilson, a guided missile destroyer from 1959-1962.

When he got out of the Navy, he began working for PG&E in 1962 in Hinkley, CA.  This is the same water treatment plant from the movie Erin Brockovich.  He was working there and was also a volunteer firefighter when he met Marvene “Dee” Denison in 1964.  Ed also spent some time working for Firestone Tire until he joined the California Highway Patrol in January of 1966.  He and Dee married in June of 1966, and he began flying and received his pilot's license in 1967.  They had a son, Trent Edward, in December of 1971 and a daughter, Shannon Lea, in November of 1973.  He retired from the Highway Patrol in 1972 and ran a scuba diving school and repair shop for a few years until he rejoined the Highway Patrol so he could transfer to the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs. There, he worked closely with the coroner and for OSHA.

They moved to the San Diego area in the summer of 1974 where Ed began is final career in the State of California Board of Medical Quality Assurance where he investigated, arrested, and monitored licensed medical providers for malpractice claims. He and Dee divorced in 1990, and he retired in 1993, at the age of 52.  He stayed in the San Diego area for many years and took on some “fun” jobs in the aviation field, as he was an IA Certified Aviation Inspector.  In 2005, Ed purchased a motorhome and travelled around the country for a while, spending time in Louisiana, Arizona, Texas, and Wyoming.  He bought a house in Kinnear, Wyoming in August of 2011 and remained there until a major health declined in June of 2024. 

Ed was immensely proud of his membership in Mensa, which requires a “genius level” IQ to join and his vast collection of “insignifica”.  He used to refer to it as trivia but changed the name after he realized that most of the nuggets that he shared were insignificant.  He was so proud of Trent for his intellect, vast work accomplishments and his university degree.  He often bragged about and tried to drum up business for Shannon’s cake decorating business.  He was the delivery driver for many of the early years and for hundreds of cake orders.   He loved his grandkids, Savannah (5) and Sterling (3), and made frequent trips to Nebraska to visit them after Shannon and Bryan relocated to Arapahoe in 2018.

Ed was known for his large stature.  At 6’ 5” (which he would always say he was 5’ 17” when asked how tall he was), the only thing larger was his personality and his heart. He always wanted to make someone laugh or impart some kind of wisdom on them.  While his jokes and sayings were almost always inappropriate, you could not deny his intent was to make you smile.  He had a kind soul and was incredibly generous.

He was a man of faith from early on in childhood.  His father wanted to be a Baptist preacher but needed to work to support his family.  Ed attended a Lutheran Sunday School every week for over 5 years, being picked up with his two older sisters by a neighbor.  He chose to be baptized in the Baptist Church when he was 15 years old.  He also grew up active in the Masonic Temple and on November 9, 1996, was recognized as a 32° in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, after achieving Master Mason.  He volunteered for many years driving the firetruck in countless parades and raising money for the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.  In a special ceremony, he received his Golden Veteran Award in 2014 in Riverton, Wyoming to honor his 50 years of membership and service to others.

Ed was an avid gun enthusiast, accomplished marksman and collector of all things needed to reload ammunition.  He was the greatest collector of unfinished projects. He loved music, collecting recipes, Edgar Allan Poe, and Winston Churchill. 

He chose a reclusive and solitary life, but he touched the lives of many and will be missed by more than he will ever know. 

                                                                                                                             Ed with Captain Caney - 2004 Reunion